US to impose sanctions on Libya in a bid to halt and punish Gaddafi's crackdown on protests

The announcements from White House spokesman Jay Carney came as a US-chartered ferry carrying more than 300 evacuees reached safety in the Mediterranean island of Malta, and a chartered flight carrying more US citizens left Tripoli, destination Turkey. -- PHOTO: AFP WASHINGTON - THE United States said on Friday it was imposing unilateral and multilateral sanctions on Libya in a bid to halt and punish Muammar Gaddafi's crackdown on protests. Washington also said that it has closed its embassy in Tripoli for security reasons, and warned that US intelligence assets were monitoring events for evidence of atrocities committed by Mr Gaddafi's forces. The announcements from White House spokesman Jay Carney came as a US-chartered ferry carrying more than 300 evacuees reached safety in the Mediterranean island of Malta, and a chartered flight carrying more US citizens left Tripoli,...